Harvest of Righteousness
“Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away” Psalm 58: 7-9.
This passage is full of metaphors. But it, along with the entire psalm is talking about the fate of the wicked. They have no future. They will not endure.
The righteous (believers) endure because we continue in righteousness. The wicked will not endure because they do not persist in righteousness. The righteous continue to do whats right despite trials and set-backs.
To read the chapter for context, click here.
Parable of the Soils
Their root isn’t scorched and withered by the sun. Because their heart is deep soil. And the roots of the Word can go deeply into the soil and be protected from the hot sun, which represents trials.
The wicked on the other hand only do what’s right as long as it’s not too hard. But because their heart is shallow, the sun scorches and withers the roots of the Word when it gets hot (Mathew 13: 1-23).
If we want our life to endure and last, we must endure and last in doing what’s right, even when it gets hard.
Verse 11 is a big reason the righteous need to continue in their righteousness and not grow weary in well-doing: “Mankind will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth’”.
It’s a big reason we must “. . . never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” Romans 12: 19.
When We Do What’s Right God is Glorified
If we allow God to avenge the wicked and if we continue to do what’s right long enough to be rewarded, then God is glorified in the earth when people see it.
When people see that the righteous are rewarded, not just in eternity, but on this earth, it will motivate and inspire them to turn from their wicked ways and be righteous.
But people will never see this unless the righteous do their part. Our part is to continue to do what’s right and not lose heart and give up. We must resist the urge to turn to our own devices to meet our needs.
We need to wait for the Lord to avenge the wicked rather than doing it ourselves.
Faith and Patience Produces A Harvest of Righteousness
So really, in order for God to be glorified in the earth, the righteous must have faith and patience.
We must believe:
- Our righteousness will be rewarded.
- God will avenge the wicked.
And we must patiently wait for these things to come about. Just as a farmer receives his harvest because he believes it’s going to come and then patiently waits for it.
So too, we must believe that the seeds that both the righteous and wicked sow will eventually mature and bear fruit. And we/they will reap a harvest.
The harvest for the righteous is rewards. The harvest for the wicked is judgments. But in both cases we must believe the harvest is coming and patiently wait.
To read another post related to Harvest of Righteousness, see I’m In Trouble, What Does the Bible Say?